Sewing machine



Aug. 1, 1933. R. F. LIST ET AL SEWING MACHINE Filed Sept. 14, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 VIIlI/{ggzZZ/I/j/IIIIIIIIIIIII II/Illll'llll IIIIIIIIIIIIIII/ Aug. 1, 1933. R, LIST r AL 1,920,471

SEWING MACHINE Filed Sept. 14, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 & h)

fizz/9725070":

Patented Aug. 1, 1933 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFEQE SEWING MACHINE Company, Belvidere, Illinois III., a Corporation of Application September 14, 1931 Serial No. 562,676

8 Claims.

This invention relates to sewing machines and more particularly to treadle operated sewing ma chines.

The main object of the invention is to produce a treadle operated sewing machine which can be manufactured at a substantially lower cost than can a motor driven machine and which will embody certain features of advantage found in motor driven machines and not heretofore available in treadle operated machines, these features including compactness, attractive appearance and means for enclosing the operative parts in such way that the machine will be acceptable as a piece of furniture in a living room.

No attempt has been made heretofore to disguise treadle operated machines in order to make the same attractive in appearance. In all treadle operated machines on the market, the side frame castings, the treadle, the pitman shaft, a large pulley wheel and a belt running to the drive shaft of the stitch-forming mechanism are fully exposed and the machines as a' whole are relatively large and unattractive in appearance.

Motor driven sewing machines have been enclosed in attractive cabinets, and because of the absence of treadles and power-transmitting mechanism, no difficult problems were involved in covering the utilitarian features of the construction and making the machine function as a piece of living room furniture when not being used for sewin However, on account of the cost of production, motor driven machines are not available to many users of sewing machines, and one of the objects of this invention is to produce, at low cost, a machine having the desirable features above mentioned.

The objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing means, very compact in form, for transmitting power from the treadle to the stitch-forming mechanism, and locating the same entirely within a drop head cabinet which is supported on conventional table legs, and, further, by providing a removable treadle disengageably connected to the means for transmitting power to the stitch-forming mechanism. Other objects and advantages will appear from the following specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View through a sewing machine embodying our invention, the section being taken in the plane of the line 1-1 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fi 3 is a plan view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fi 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, showing in plan .view the treadle and one means for mounting same.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation, partly in section, of part of the pitman shaft.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the cabinet legs, and a modified form of treadle mountin Fig. 7 is a plan view of the treadle andmounting for same shown in Fig. 6, the cabinet legs being in section.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of a detail taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a treadle and another modified form of mounting for the same.

Fig. 10 is a vertical section taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is an elevation taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 10.

Fi 12 isa plan view of a treadle and another modified form of mounting for the same.

Fig. 13 is side elevation, partly in section, of the structure shown in Fig. 12.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, 10 indicates legs, four in number, for supporting a drop head cabinet 11. The cabinet consists of a back wall 12 and side walls 13 and 1e fixedly secured to the legs 10. A front wall or door 15 is hin 'edly secured along one side edge to one of the legs it. A table top 16, provided with an elongated opening of about the size of the bed plate of the sewing head, is fixed- 1y securedtc the top edges of the back and side walls of the cabinet. Forwardly of the opening in the table top 16 is a hinged bib 17 which is raised while the sewing head is lifted, and then lowered to support the head. The bottom 18 of the drop head cabinet is made of a curved piece of wood or other suitable material and is not as wide as the space between the side walls 13 and .Said bottom 18 is fixed to the bottom of the back wall 12 and is curved and inclined upwardly toward the front where it joins the longitudinally extending front beam 19. Hingedly secured. to the side of the table top 16 is a table member 20 which overlies the top 16 when the head has been lowered and the machine is not in use. The door 15 may be opened when the machine is being used, the shape of the bottom wall 18 being such as to accommodate the knees of the user in front of the machine, while the inside 0''? the drop head cabinet is just large enough to receive the sewing head when the machine is not in use. A receptacle 21 may be secured to wall 14 of the cabinet 11.

bottom of the inner surface of the door 15. A conventional sewing machine head 22 is indicated in Fig. l, the same being supported on a bed plate 23, partly shown in Fig. 3. The bed plate 23 is hingedly secured to the table top .16 along its margln24 adjacent the opening in the top 16 through which the bed plate and sewing head may be dropped into the cabinet when the bib 1'7 has been raised. In the bottom of the cabinet, extending longitudinally adjacent the rear wall 12, is a horizontally disposed shaft 25, rotatably mounted in bearings 26 secured to the inner surfaces of the sidewalls l3 and 14. A pulley wheel 2? isfixedly 1 secured to the shaft adjacent one side wall and a similar pulley wheel 28 is fixedly secured to the shaft 25 adjacent the other side wall of the cabinet. The pulley 2? connected by a flexible belt 29 to the combination pulley and fly wheel 30 on the horizontal shaft of the sewingmachine head 22. The top 16 is apertured at 31, to receive the belt 29. When the sewing machine head has been dropped into'the cabinet, part of the belt rests in the groove or sunken portion 32 of the top 16 and when the head has been lifted into operative position, one lap of the belt extends upwardly through said aperture 31 and the other lap is placed into the notch 33 cut into the table top 18 and bib 17. i

The other pulley 28 is operatively connected with a grooved disc pulley wheel 34' rotatably mounted on the stub shaft fixed in the side A flexible belt 36 operatively connects the pulleys 28 and 34. The wheel 3-4 is considerably larger than the. pulley 28 and the open bottom of the cabinet at one side accommodates the pulley 34 as well as the upper section 37 of a two piece pitmanisliait 37-8 3. The shaft section 37 is rotatably mounted on the hub 89 which extends laterally from one side of the wheel 34, being formed with an eye .48 at its upper end through which said hub 39 extends.

The end 41 of the lower pitman shaft section 38 is rotatably connected to a pin which extends through the bifurcated projection 42 of the treadle 43. The shaft section 37is sufficiently long to depend below the bottom wall 18 of the drop head cabinet in at least one position of the pulley wheel 34, so that the two sections 37 and 38 may be coupled together externally of the cabinet. The detachable coupling for the two sections of .the pitman shaft is shown in detail in Fig. 5 and preferably consists of interlocking faces on the shaft sections near their abutting ends. Said faces are provided with projections 44 adapted to seat in the complementally shaped depressions 45 of the adjacent shaft member. When the two ends have been positioned together as intended, the sections will bein axial alignment and will be so held by the telescopic member or sleeve 46 slidably mounted on the lower shaft section 38. A coiled spring 47, surrounding the shaft 38, is connected at one end to the'sleeve 46 and at the other end to said shaft 38. In order to couple the shaft sectionstogether, the sleeve 46 is pulled downwardly on the shaft 38, the spring 47 being thereby compressed, and the upper end of the section 38 of the pitman shaft is exposed. 'When the two shaft ends have been placed in interlocking relationship the sleeve may moved upwardly under the influence of the expansive tendency of the spring and sleeve will surround the abutting ends of the shaft sections which are thus prevented from becoming disengaged.

The treadle 43 with its attached shaft section 38 is removable from the machine. In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, the treadle rod 48 carrying the treadle is mounted at each end in bearings 49 formed in bearing plates 50 which are secured to supports 51 at each side of the machine. These supports may be in the form of integral legs and cross bars, made of wood to match the cabinet. The supports 51 are connected together by the treadle rod 48 in spaced apart relationship so as to fit between the legs 10 of the cabinet. Sidewise movement of the treadle and supports 51 is prevented by the small plates-52, secured to the supports 51, which form shoulders for bearing against the inner sides of the cabinet legs.

In Figs. 6 to 8, inclusive, a modified removable treadle mounting is shown. The treadle andtreadle rod are again indicated at 43 and 48, respectively, and the table legs at 10. In this construction the cabinet legs are provided with built in cross bars 53 which extend from a front leg to a rear leg and preferablymatch the cabinet as to material and finish. An ornamental plate 54, provided with an upwardly opening recess-55, is fixedly secured to the inner side of the cross bar 53. The treadle rod 48 may be provided with reduced ends or trunnions 56 which fitin the recesses for removably mounting the treadle in said side bars 53. 'As heretofore explained in connection with Figs. 1 to 4, inclusivethe treadle 43 carries the pitman shaft section 38 which is disengageably coupled to the other shaft section 37. Thus the treadle and exposed part of the pitman shaft are removable from the machine.

In 9 to 11, inclusive, we have shown another modification in which the treadle 43,'

mounted on its rod 48, is permanently mounted in bearing plates-50 similar to the plates 50 heretofore described. Instead of using floor engaging supports such thesupports 51 heretofore described, we have, in this modification, mounted said bearing plates 58 on side bars 5''? reinovably mc'inted in a frontleg and a back leg of the cab-- inst. side bar 5'7 is provided with a pin 58 at each end, for entering metal sockets 59 fitted into the 10. To facilitate placing the cross bars 5"? i to peel .011, one or both of the be-- t rob. the ole bar extends, are provided ongated rec (ill, shown in Figs. 10 and extending upwardly from the socket hes in 18. indicate howvone ed i a socket 59 and then the d of cross bar 57 is 60 forced dowmvardly The side 5'7 rainst o the legs 10.

lfland l3 bar similar to that shown as made in two parts,

indicated at 5'1 i and 68, hing c4. pins which seat in the sockets 66 in the legs 10-. Fig. 13 shows the function of the hinged joint by which the pins on the parts 62 and 63 enabled to enter. socket 66. When the joint 64 is straig toned, the parts assume the solid he T 13. [i plate d4 holds the sections (-32 and 83 in horizontal alignment.

The treadle 43 carrying the exposed part 38 of the pitman y connected together by a hinge These ts are supplied with projecting may thus be made removable from a fixed part of the cabinet support, as contemplated by the construction shown in Figs. 6 to 8, inclusive, or the treadle may be permanently mounted in supports or side bars which are removable from the cabinet supporting legs, as shown in the other figures of the drawings.

When the treadle is in operativeposition and the pitman shaft sections 3'7 and 38 have been coupled together, power is transmitted from the treadle operated pitman shaft through the pulley 34, belt 36, pulley 28, shaft 25, pulley 2'7, and belt 29 to the pulley 30 on the drive shaft in the sewing head 22. The arrangement of the parts constituting the power-transmitting means is such that a minimum of space is required and the cabinet for holding the parts may be extremely compact.

When the machine is not in use the treadle and the exposed part of the pitman shaft may be removed and then only the cabinet and its supporting legs are visible. Quite apart from the novel feature of making the exposed parts of the mechanism removable from the unexposed parts, the arrangement and form of the power-transmitting mechanism in the cabinet have resulted in the production of a very compact andwell balanced machine. To indicate how small the cabinet may be and yet enclose a conventional sized sewing machine head and means for transmitting power to the stitch-forming mechanism from the foot-operated treadle, the following measurements of the cabinet of a full sized machine are here given:

The external dimensions of the cabinet may be 19 from side to side, 16 from back to front and approximately 10 in depth, and the table top may be slightly longer and wider, say 16 by 20".

From the foregoing it will be understood that the arrangement of the power-transmitting mechanism is believed to constitute novel and patentable subject matter, whether embodied in a machine having a removable treadle or in a machine having the treadle permanently mounted in side bars or cabinet walls.

Changes may be made in details of construction without departing from the scope of our invention and we do not intend to be limited to the exact form shown and described, except as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A treadle operated, drop head cabinet type sewing machine comprising a sewing head hinged to the cabinet, power-transmitting mechanism in the cabinet, supports for the cabinet, a treadle, means located externally of the cabinet for detachably connecting the treadle to the powertransmitting mechanism, and means for removably mounting the treadle relatively to the cabinet supports, whereby upon release of the detachable connecting means said treadle may be moved bodily relative to said supports by said connecting means.

2. A treadle operated sewing machine comprising a drop head cabinet, a sewing head, including stitch-forming mechanism and a pulleycarrying shaft disposed adjacent one side wall of the cabinet and hingedly mounted on said cabinet, a horizontally disposed shaft rotatably mounted in bearings adjacent to the side walls of the cabinet, a pulley wheel fixed to the rotatable shaft adjacent each end, a pitman shaft, a stub shaft fixed to the other side wall of the cabinet, a wheel rotatably mounted on the stub shaft and carrying said pitman shaft, a driving connection between the pitman-carrying wheel and one of said pulley wheels on the horizontal shaft, a driving connecttion between the other pulley wheel and the pulley on the sewing head shaft, and a treadle, the treadle being movable bodily relatively to the machine, and the pitman shaft being of two sections detachably coupled together below the cabinet, the lower section being connected to the treadle and removable therewith.

3. A treadle operated sewing machine comprising a drop head cabinet supported on legs, a sewing machine head including stitch-forming mechanism hingedly mounted on the cabinet, a treadle, movable bodily relatively to the machine, a two-section pitman shaft, one section being secured tothe treadle and removable therewith as a unit, mechanism within the cabinet for operatively connecting the other of said pitman shaft sections to the stitch-forming mechanism, and means for detachably connecting said pitman shaft sections together in axial alignment, said last mentioned means comprising complementally shaped, interlocking side faces on the abutting ends of the pitman shaft sections, and a sleeve slidably mounted on one of said sections for surrounding said interlocked ends.

4. A treadle operated sewing machine comprising a drop head cabinet, a sewing head, including stitch-forming mechanism and a pulley-carrying shaft disposed adjacent one side wall of the cabinet and hingedly mounted on said cabinet, a hori izontally disposed shaft rotatably mounted in bearings adjacent to the side walls of the cabinet, a pulley wheel fixed to the rotatable shaft adja cent each end, a pitman shaft, a stub shaft fixed to the other side wall of the cabinet, a wheel rotatably mounted on the stub shaft and carrying said pitman shaft, a driving connection between the pitman-carrying wheel and one of said pulley wheels on the horizontal shaft, a driving connection between the other pulley wheel and the pulley on the sewing head shaft, and a treadle, the treadle being movable bodily relatively to the machine, and the pitman shaft being of two sections detachably coupled together below the cab-. inet, the lower section being connected to the treadle, the means for detachably coupling the pitman shaft sections together comprising compleinentally shaped, interlocking side faces on the abutting ends of the pitman shaft sections, and a sleeve slidably mounted on one of of said sections for surrounding said interlocked ends.

5. A treadle operated sewing machine comprising a drop head cabinet supported on legs, a sewing machine head including stitch-forming mechanism hingedly mounted on the cabinet, at treadle, movable treadle-carrying supports between the cabinet legs at each side of the machine, means for operatively connecting the treadle to cabinet enclosed power-transmitting mechanism, the latter being operatively connected to the stitch-forming mechanism, and a detachable coupling, located externally of the cabinet, associated withthe means for connecting the treadle to said power-transmitting mechanism, for rendering the treadle and said means detachable from the cabinet-enclosed mechanism as a unit.

6. A treadle operated, drop head cabinet type sewing machine comprising a sewing head hinged to the cabinet, power-transmitting mechanism in the cabinet, supports for the cabinet, a treadle, means located externally of the cabinet for detachably connecting the treadle to the powertransmitting mechanism, and means for removably mounting the treadle relatively to the cabinet supports, said last mentioned means including treadle-carrying side bars, removably mounted on the cabinet supports. i i

'7. A treadle operated, drop, head cabinet type sewing machine comprising a sewing head hinged to the cabinet, power-transmitting mechanism in the cabinet, supports for thecabinet, atreadle, means located externally of the cabinet for detachably connecting the treadle to the powertransmitting mechanism, and means for removably mounting the treadle relatively to the cabinet supports, said last mentioned means including treadle-carrying side bars having a pin projecting from each end, and a socket in the cabinet supports for receiving said pin projections.

8. A treadle operated sewing machinecompris ing a drop head cabinet, a sewing head, includingstitch forming mechanism and a,pu1ley-carrying shaft disposed adjacent one side wall of the cabinet and hingedly mounted on said cabinet, a

horizontally disposed shaft rotatably mounted in bearings adjacent to the side walls of the cabinet, a pulley wheel fixed to the rotatable shaft adjacent each end, a pitman shaft, a stub shaft fixed to the other side wall of the cabinet, awheel rotatably mounted on the stub shaft and carrying said pitman shaft, a driving, connection between the pitman-carrying wheel and one of said pulley wheels on the horizontal shaft, a driving connection between the other pulley wheel and the pulley on the sewing head shaft, and a treadle, the pitman shaft depending below the bottom of the cabinet and being connected to the ti'eadle for actuating the mechanism in the cabinet.

RAYMOND F. LIST. WALTER A. SMITH. 

